Portable air heater



March 28, 1950 w. J. PASTORET PORTABLE AIR HEATER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 10, 1948 INVENTOR. l I AL TER J PAsToRET F ATTORNEYS March 28, 1950 w. J. PASTORET 2,502,389

PORTABLE AIR HEATER Filed Jan. 10, 1948 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 zzvmvron 1 1444 TER J PASTORET ATTORNEYS March 28, 1950 w. J. PASTORET 2,502,389

PORTABLE AIR HEATER Filed Jan. 10 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 fie; 7

A TTORNE Y8 Patented Mar. 28, 1950 I 2550mm i i PORTABLE AIR HEATER WalterJr Pastoret;. Savage; Minna asaignon: of?

one-,half to; Harry, 0. S'cribncmMinneapolisa Minna c 1 a 1 Application January 10, 19.48% Seria'l'Nm E548 4 Claims; (01. 1267-96);-

invention relatesstoi new; and; useful 11mnular air. circulating passagethrough-which air:- proyements; in portable heaters and moreapare toebeiheatedemay circulate-m direct-contact with. ticularly'to; such heaters? adapted-s for keeping the heated wallofitheainnercasing member;

the: engines; of automobiles, trnckspand Aafurtliersobject is:toprovide1a: heater ofithe. airplanes, whenlstorecl; in unheated: garages? orclass described whichwembodiesa;burner-of'simsg parkediin the; openiinilocalitiesrwhereathe; temeplei well knownconstruction; and the frame of? neraturezis; likely toedrop belowzfreezing, thereby; whiehrmayrreariilybe adjustedto suit conditions, assure quick: starting; of. the engine, even and an. air heating and circulating-unitbeing though the: automotive vehicle; mayw havee been supported on the: burner head and comprising parkedi'in the openifora long timeain suliezero an: annular" air circulating; chamber through? weath n, which the air tdbeheated'is upwardly circulated;-

Theretare now: on: theamarket-Iseveral heaters: said unit being"readilyremovablefrom the burner: otfthisageneralitypeybut'toxthe:best ofimysknowlto facilita'te lighting-'and cleaning the burner. edge'moneof-these have provensuccessful inthe A further object is-- to-providea small, inex-- trad-e; primarily; because. of certain: defects inpensive portable-heater=comprising a minimum; thexconstructionthereof. The'novel heater form-. of parts; which utilizes a; readily obtainable-come ingsz-the::subjectimatter:ofithe present invention-i mercial men oil; is" safe and' easy to operate;- isatheiresult oft;considerable:researchv and ex quickly-- generates a high heat; when started, perimentahworkzin an attemptttoprovide a:heat:-; whereby the air-withina confined spacesuch-as,

er: otthiszclass-wherein all ofithe vdefects now 2 0"; the enginehood" 0f-anautomobileortruck; may inherent'sin'suchz heatershave beenzeliminatedg be*quiokly-w-armed* or -heated toa-temperature wherebywaiheaterjis prov-idedwvhichihas adequate which will assurequick startingof the engine in heating capacity to sufficientlyheatztlieair With-.-- low temperatures; and the construction of" the imthe hoodlofiaeonventionaliautomobileaor'truck burner-being such-thatit is not likely to become engineieto; keeprthez. engine: warm; even in subextinguished when exposed to strong' drafts, oncezero: temperatures; and an: object of? the invenit hasb'e'en' IightedS tionwtherefore is-*to -provide';a' heatertin which zalli Other objects of the invention reside in the ofitheidefeotsgnow inlierentlin such heatersrhave simple construction of'the inner and'outer-cylinbeen; entirely: eliminated; resulting-- in the pro dri'calfcasings and in the meansprovided for-se-- vision of such: a heater; which embodies: all of. no: curing said'casing' together in concentric relathersdesirablezfeaturesrrequired. inasuchaniappation and with-thewall of the outer casing memratus tir provide: a saf hly: efficient? heater: berspacedoutwardly from-the wallof the inner whiohnwill withstand-rough handling; and which-r oas-ingjm'embertoprovidean annular air ir may:b'e utilized in -many places where air within lettingpas'sa'ge'throughwhich theair-to beheat'ed ar'confi'ned spacei's tobe heated-lv e r v n is" circulated; the unique construction andf. further objectlofatheiinvention'is tovprovide arrangement of 'thecarryinghandle which is; aaportable liquid fuel burnerxwhich is very small? normally engaged-"with'means'on the outer casing: andlcompact and is' provided with means wherebymember to-retain thehandlefinupright operaiitamay readily" be supported under the hood of titre-position; in-the provision' of a-portable burneran-'=automobile ortruck adjacent-to the engine n o;f-'tlie-ciass' described 'whieh, inaddition to serv thereby to-warm the air around the engineto=a= ine'; as a heater, mayalsobeutilizedasa comtemperature'which will'assure quick starting of men I'ampfor lighting purposes by simply re-: the engine; even -though tlie vehicle may=havemoving; the air heating unit from the burner Been" parked? ina sub-zero temperature fin; at head and. substituting therefor a conventional longtime; I j p lam -chimnew' w 7 A- furtherobject isito provide a burner off'the' Gtlieriobjetsaof:the invent o llr pp f described" which is" extremely-simple and-i thefollowihggdescription;andithe aceompanying inexpensive; in construction and v which-1 is' so: coiri drawingeanu; will tiepointedout in theannexed? stiructedi that itimay; he? readily lightedi with; a cl m 4 minimum-oi'eifort andij-with the-assurancathat Iii-the:-acoompanyin l n i here-hasbeen itiwill? continue to; burn sn long asthermissliquidz. disclosedci a! structure; designedto carry" out" the fuel;jna-tfieergservolfg I a V a various,objeetszofthe: invention; but it i'sztobe further object rvis' torprovide; smalllportabl'ee nd' thatithe" invention: is -w fihe' r liquid fuel heater comprising: a; fuel? reservoir ttieaexact?featuressshown; s v han es-may having av burner head-i securedli to: thee topawail be". made withinthe=- scopeof the; claims: which thereofand:provided' withrmeansziorccletaclrahit follow. receiving and supporting an upright cylindrical? l-z h dl'a f i I casing; and'a-relatively larger outerrcasing -mem- Figure-I is an elevationaltview :ofimydmprovedf! being; fitted; over: said? inner:- casing memner: bnrnere with. thee 12321118.: thereof? in; the? positions. withzits wall snared"? there'iromztonprovide-anzan use: assumed wlremthe hurnerrisrt'in-t condition fors usegthe arrows indicating the upward air circulation therethrough;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 looking at the burner from another angle;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the casing assembly or air heating unit detached from the burner;

Figure 4 is a bottom view of Figure 3, showing the means provided for retaining the inner and outer casing members in concentric relation;

Figure 5 is a top view of Figure 3, showing the deflector plate positioned over the inner-casing; l

Figure 6 is a view showing the hood of an automotive vehicle with the novel burner herein disclosed, positioned over the vehicle engine to heat the air within the hood; and a Figure 7 is a view showing the heater converted into a conventional form of lamp.

i The novel burner herein disclosed is shown comprising a liquid fuel reservoir 2 which may be of any suitable shape and design, and which preferably is provided with a carrying handle 3, as best shown in Figure 1.

The top wall 4 of the reservoir is shown provided with an upstanding neck 5 to the upper end of which a suitable burner head, generally designated by the numeral 6, is detachably secured. The burner head may be detachably secured to the neck 5 by screw threads, or by other securing means which will permit the burner head to be readily moved from the neck 5 to permit introducing a liquid fuel into the reservoir 2.

The burner head 6 is shown provided with a suitable wick, indicated by the dotted lines I in Figure 1. The wick is vertically adjustable in the burner head by a well known form of adjusting element 8, shown in Figure 2.

. The burner head is further provided with an annular upstanding flange 9 having an inwardly turned flange II! at its bottom whose inner edge may be suitably secured to the burner head, as will be understood.

A cylindrical casing, which will hereinafter be referred to as the inner casing II, has its lower end detach-ably fitting within the annular flange 9, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The casing Il extends upwardly from the burner head 6 and provides, in efiect, a combustion chamber II for the burner flame 6' which is located in the lower portion of the casing II, as shown in Figure 2. The burner 6, shown in the application drawings, may be of conventional design such as utilized in certain types of liquid fuel which are extremely simple and inexpensive in construction, and, when equipped with the flange 9, provides a, very adequate support for the casing II, and the parts carried thereby as will be understood by reference to Figure 3.

Encircling the inner casing member II is an outer casing I2. The wall I2 of the outer casing is spaced outwardly from the wall of the inner casing I l, thereby to provide an annular air circulating passage I3 through which the cold air to be heated may circulate, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 1, when the heater is operating.

is positioned directly over the inner casing mem-' ber II in vertically spaced relation thereto.

Also shown secured to the flange I4 of the outer casing member is a suitable fine mesh screen I! whichserves to prevent sparks frombeing projected from the burner flame, and also .to im-.

v all: fire hazards.

prove the efilciency of the burner by retarding air circulation upwardly through the casing members II and [2. The horizontal portion of the flange 9 is preferably provided with suitable air openings, not shown, through which air may be supplied to the combustion chamber II' to supply oxygen for supporting proper combustion.

To retain the outer casing member I2 in concentric relation to the inner casing member II, a spacing element, generally designated by the numeral I8, is shown inserted between the inner and outer casing members I I and I2, respectively, as best shown in Figure 4. The spacing element I8 may be formed from strap or sheet metal which is corrugated to provide a series of undulations, as shown in Figure 4. The corrugations provided in the spacing member I8 are of such size as to engage the walls of both the inner and outer casing members II and I2, respectively, whereby the parts may be retained in concentric relation by friction, if desired. In practice, however, it may be found desirable to permanently secure the spacing element I8 between the inner and outer casing members whereby said casing members will be secured together to provide a structure which may readily be handled, when detached from the heater, as shown in Figure 3.

A suitable handle, generally designated by the numeral I9, is shown having its spaced legs 2| pivotally connected to suitable ears or lugs 22 provided on the wall of the fuel reservoir 2, as best shown in Figure 2. The handle I9 may be made from a single piece of wire formed with a hook element 23 at its upper end to facilitate suspending the heater from an overhead support, such asthe brace rod 24, usually provided between the cowl 25 and radiator 26 of an automotive vehicle. See Figure 6.

Outwardly extending lugs 21 are shown provided on the outer casing member I2 having notches 28 therein for receiving the spaced legs 2I of the carrying handle I9, as clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The lugs 21 cooperate to retain the handle in its upright operative position, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

When it is desired to remove the casing assembly or air heating unit from the burner head, as when lighting the burner, the legs 2| of the handle ill may readily be slightly outwardly flexed, as indicated by the dotted lines A in Figure 2, after which the handle may be swung downwardly, as indicated by the arrow B in Figure 1, to an inoperative position shown at C.

In Figure 7 a conventional lamp chimney 29 is shown substituted for the burner assembly,-

whereby the device may be utilized as a conventional liquid fuel lamp. It will thus be noted that the novel heater herein disclosed may be.

utilized as a heater, as shown in Figure 6, or as a lamp, for lighting purposes, as shown in Figure 7. When the heater is utilized as a heater for keeping an engine warm, it may be suspendedfrom the truss or tie rod 24 directly over the? engine, as shown in'Figure 6, or it maybe placed at a lower elevation adjacent to the carburetor..-

The flame 6' of the heater is so confined within the casing assembly as to substantially eliminate The reservoir is also provided with arelatively large base whereby the heater may be safely positioned on any flat surface, as will be appreciated by reference to Figures 1 and 2.

..The lower edge 3| of the outer casing is spacedupwardly from the lower edge 32 of the inner casing II, as illustrated in Figures 1,2 and 3,.

thereby to stimulate upward air circulation through the annular heating chamber l3 when the burner is in operation.

The heater is extremely simple to operate because of the simple construction of the casing assembly and the manner of supporting it on the burner head. The casing assembly is completely removable from the burner head as a unit, by simply disengaging the handle legs 2! from the lugs 21, after which the burner may be lighted by applying a lighted match to the burner wick i. The casing assembly is then fit ted onto the burner head and the legs 2| of the handle engaged with the lugs 21, whereupon the heater is ready for use. If the flame requires adjustment, such adjustment may readily be accomplished by manipulating the control element 8, shown in Figure 2.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal objects of my invention, and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advanta es not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a heater of the class described, a liouid fuel reservoir, a burner head mounted on the reservoir and having means for supplying liouid fuel thereto from the reservoir, an inner casing s pported on the burner and extending unwardly therefrom and providing a combustion chamb r for the burner, a relativelv larger casing fitting over the upper and central portions of the inner casing with its wall spaced fromv the wall of the inner casi g to provide an annular air circulating passage between said casing walls through which air to be heated is circulated. the outer casing having an inwardly directed a nular flange at its upper end, means secured to said flan e and disposed over the top of the inner casing for outwardly directing a heated air dischargin from the top of the outer casing, and a spacing element interposed in said annular air circulating passage for maintaining the inner and outer casing members in fixed concentric relation to one another.

2. In a heater of the class described, a liquid fuel reservoir. a burner head mounted on the reservoir, an air heati g unit comprising an inner cylindrical imperforate casing having its lower end adap ed to be supported on the burner head, said air heating unit comprisin a relatively lar er outer casing having its wall'spaced outwardly from the wall of the inner casing to provide an annular upri ht air circulating passage open at its top and bottom, the lower ed e of the outer casi g being spaced upwardly from the lower ed e of the inner casing to permit free and unrestricted air circulation upwardly through said annular passage, means positioned over the top of the inner casing member for e i inat rr" sparks, and a handle ha in s aced legs pivotally connected to the reservoir and provided at its upper e d with a hook adapt d to be enga ed with a suitable sup ort for the heater. and means for retaining the handle in an upright operative position.

3. In a heater oi the class described. a liquid fuel reservoir, a burner head mounted on the reservoir, an air heating unit comprising an inner casing member having its lower end adapted to be supported on the burner head, said air heating unit comprising a relatively larger outer cylindrical casing having its wall spaced outwardly from the wall of the inner casing to provide an annular upright air circulating passage open at its top and bottom, the lower edge of the outer casing being spaced upwardly from the lower edge of the inner casing to provide free unrestricted air circulation upwardly through said annular passage, a supporting member having spaced legs whose lower ends are pivotally connected to the reservoir, and outwardly directed notched lugs secured to the air heating unit adapted to receive the spaced legs of the supporting member, thereby to retain the supporting member in an upright operative position to facilitate suspending the heater from an overhead support.

4. In a heater of the class described, a liquid fuel reservoir, a burner head mounted on the reservoir and having means for supplying liquid fuel thereto from the reservoir, said burner having an upright annular flange, an inner cylindrical casing having its lower end fitting within said flange and whereby the casing is detachably supported on the burner, an outer casing fitting over the upper end portion of the inner casing with its wall outwardly spaced therefrom to provide an annular air heating passage through which air to be heated is circulated, an undulated spacing element interposed in the annular air circulating passage to retain the outer casing in concentric relation to the inner casing, a fine meshed screen secured to the upper end of the outer casing and overlying the top of the inner casing, notched lugs secured to the upper end of the outer casing, a. supporting and carrying handle comprising spaced parallel legs having means at their lower ends for pivotally connecting them to the reservoir, said legs normally fitting within the recesses provided in said lugs whereby the handle may be retained in an upright operative position, means at the upper end of the handle, whereby the heater may readily be suspended from a support, and the legs of said handle being sufficiently flexible to permit them to be outwardly flexed, thereby to release them from the notched lugs in the upper end of the outer casing to thereby permit lowering the handle to an inoperative position.

WALTER J. PASTORET.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 428,043 Danforth May 13, 1890 481,511 Randall Aug. 23, 1892 634,674 Slater Oct. 10, 1899 740,530 Clark Oct. 6, 1903 978,990 Damon Dec. 20, 1910 1,146,555 Conrath July 13, 1915 2,019,646 Barhoff Nov. 5, 1935 2,271,076 Hupier Jan. 27, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 273,980 Great Britain July 14, 192'? 346,841 Great Britain Apr. 20, 1931 452,255 France Mar. 3, 1913 

